Three stars for Yankees against the Blue Jays

The Yankees lost some ground in the AL East when they dropped two of three to the Blue Jays over the weekend. After a win in the opener, New York fell in the next two, including a heartbreaker on Sunday in the rubber match. The Yankees will look to get back on track when they open a three-game series against the struggling Rangers on Monday, but here's a look at who stood out over the weekend.

A reliever earlier this season with the Red Sox, the Yankees surprised many when they announced veteran left-hander Chris Capuano would start on Saturday. But as has been the case for much of the season, the Yankees got an excellent start from an unlikely source, as Capuano was steady over his six innings of work, limiting the Blue Jays to just a pair of runs.

New York was ultimately undone by some late defensive miscues in a 6-4 Toronto win, but the club still has to be pleased with the efforts of those being asked to fill in for their bevy of injured starters. Capuano joins the likes of Chase Whitley, Shane Greene and Brandon McCarthy who have all filled in admirably as the club waits for the return of some of their bigger name starters. Capuano's impressive debut also highlights again the job Brian Cashman has been doing to find capable fill-ins to keep the Yankees' playoff hopes very much alive.

Another of Cashman's reclamation projects continues to produce, as Chase Headley has been everything the Yankees could have hoped when they acquired him from San Diego. Headley has given the club the professional at-bats they needed at the hot corner, launching his first home run as a Yankee in Sunday's 5-4 loss.

Headley was also instrumental in New York's only win of the weekend, as the third baseman went 3 for 4, scoring a pair of runs to help Hiroki Kuroda pick up his seventh win of the season.

The Yankees exited the All-Star break knowing they needed to find a way to get Carlos Beltran's bat going. Though injuries are still forcing him exclusively to the DH role, he has begun to feel comfortable enough to flash his tremendous power potential. Beltran homered twice over the weekend, with a solo shot that helped propel New York to a win on Friday, along with a two-run blast in the loss on Saturday.

This season has been a struggle for Beltran, who has been bothered by bone spurs in his right elbow for most of the year. But with home runs in consecutive days, the veteran slugger may be finally feeling more comfortable at the plate, something that could bode very well for the Yankees down the stretch.